Time to get to work for Minister of Social Welfare

 

Dato' Sri Nancy Shukri
Minister of Women, Family and Community Development of Malaysia

There are a number of cases where people deserving social welfare are not getting the support from the Department of Social Welfare.

In recent years, I have come across a number of cases where applications for their entitlements under the government schemes for social welfare expecially for retirees, are not getting the help from the Department of Social Welfare. 

I wish the whole department is overhauled, and only the good ones are given the promotion so that the department can perform its duty conscientously to help the B40 community. Only then can its minister just go to her posh office and enjoy Earl Gray served in the posh porcelain jug, and no one would bother to disturb her. She can then happily adopt the three blinded monkeys - not hear, see or be told of what the staff at JKM are doing for the underprivileged people. 

I am not referring to everyone at JKM. As I have always said if we can find a good civil servant, he or she is automatically a rare gemstone that is difficult to find. 

Case 1:  A former social worker living living in Taman Len Seng in Cheras 

Maureen Yap (not her real name), a former social worker, dedicated much of her life—nearly 40 years—to helping women who struggled with drug dependence and had turned to sex work reintegrate into mainstream society. Her work was driven by compassion and a deep commitment to giving these women a second chance at life.

Despite her decades of service, Maureen now faces a difficult retirement. She and her late husband did not have much savings in their EPF funds to get by. When her husband was alive, he worked in a drug rehabilitation centre in Jalan Klang Lama, before embarking on a door-to-door project collecting recyclable materials during the pandemic to supplement their income.

Their repeated applications for assistance from the Social Welfare Department (JKM) were rejected. Many excuses were given by JKM officers, including not answering phone calls and sounded quite rude at times. 

It was only after Bandar Tun Razak MP, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, tasked her special officer, Kuek Zhe Han, to assist with the applications and personally follow through with the process that their case was reconsidered.

Eventually, JKM approved a monthly allowance of RM250 for Maureen. However, they declined to grant an additional RM250, stating that since her husband had passed away, he was no longer eligible. It was only after a lot of discussions between her and the JKM officers, with the help of Kuek, that JKM finally received the support for RM500 a month. 

Case 2: Founders of Green Pastures for Drug Rehabilitation Centre

Geoff and Prema Matthews founded Green Pastures Drug Rehabilitation Centre in January 1991. After helping hundreds of drug dependents overcome addiction, the couple are now fully retired. They currently reside in a house in Seremban—originally left by Prema’s mother to her elder brother—where the cost of living is lower than in Kuala Lumpur.

During their years of service, Prema ensured that the organisation’s staff received their salaries and that their EPF contributions were consistently paid. However, she and her husband made the difficult decision not to contribute to their own EPF, as donation funds were at times insufficient to cover both operational costs and staff welfare.

As a Malaysian, Prema should qualify for some form of social welfare support in her retirement.

Even before she approached the service centre of Seremban MP Anthony Loke, I had personally shared with Loke several cases where individuals were turned away by the Social Welfare Department (JKM). I had suggested that Loke assign a special officer to assist with Prema's application, as Maureen Yap’s case reflects a broader pattern in which those eligible for social welfare are denied assistance due to bureaucratic barriers at the counter level. Unfortunately, there was no response from the Minister of Transport.

Prema subsequently sought help from the same MP’s office. However, her request was turned down by staff who appeared unaware that applicants approaching JKM without some assistance from the local MPs to apply pressure on them, are often rejected, sometimes on the slightest grounds—an experience that mirrors what many others have faced. 

Case 3: Mother and Son with OKU status

In the case of Colin Ng, a young man born with multiple disabilities, their applications on several occasions have been rejected, the latest being the JKM officer who attempted to call both her and her son four times, was success. This is hardly a reasonable justification. 

Social welfare officers should take a more proactive approach like their counterparts in Hong Kong and other countries by visiting families on the ground to assess their circumstances directly—an approach practised in countries such as Hong Kong. It is only when the JKM officers develop a heart of compassion that they can do a good; otherwise, it is better for them to be transferred so some other less important jobs elsewhere and take a pay cut. 

JKM's job should focus on how to elevate the lives of those entitled to social welfare so that they do not suffer in silence. The death of an eligible spouse for example, should not leave the widow or widower stranded withiout a regular income to survive on. After all, without people like Geoff Matthews in Case 2, we would not have Green Pastures that people were able to refer their relatives to for the drug rehabilitation process. Matthews left UK to settle down in Malaysia after marrying Prema; for him, it was already a willingness to lower his standard of living for the sake of the work he was passionate with. 

In the case of Colin and his mother, Janet Ooi, it was good for Puchong MP, Yeo Bee Yin to refer the case earlier to her special officer. However, because the mother-and-son had moved on to Happy Mansion in Section 17, Petaling Jaya, the case was referred to one local council Christopher Ong, whom, after she had described him vividly, I knew this case is in good hands now. 

"He also created Rakyat Response for us to report to MBPJ. He is a hands-on person. I told him about the need to have a speed reducer at a corner where we can’t see on coming vehicles. After the MC submitted an application, MBPJ approved it. We are waiting for the speed reducer to be installed soon."

DAP should take note of good candidates like this to contest in the next state election. We need more good people who do work than talk only. 

These are just three cases that I know personally. I believe if the minister, Nancy Shukri cares to open up her channel for people to send  her stories of their own experiences with JKM officers, she would be red-faced.

In fact, the problem with JKM officers went back to more than 20 years ago. I recall fetching a disabled person on wheelchair to the JKM office somewhere in the Dang Wangi area. The office is located on the first floor of the building with only a staircase. Instead of visiting the disabled person, the officer saw it fit to get people to meet them in the comfort of their own office, without taking into consideration that parking was a problem, and pushing up a disabled person's wheelchair was challenging. 

My suggestion to Minister Nancy Shukri is to undertake a thorough review of JKM’s processes. For instance, why did Maureen Yap receive only RM500 when the government had announced RM600? On what basis was the amount reduced? Should individual officers have the discretion to adjust the quantum of assistance for a widow without clear justification?

To ensure transparency and accountability, it would be appropriate for an independent audit—perhaps by the Accountant General’s Office—to examine cases like this and determine why there is a discrepancy between the amount announced and the amount actually disbursed.

Often it is not the minister to be blamed, and when I start putting togeher three different stories (as though I am out to badmouth people) as just examples, at the very least she should be aware of what is happening on the ground -- and do something! Instead of  keeping silent, she should solve the headache faced by the people, especially those who need help the most and they have no one to turn to. The last thing I would not want to hear is that some of the people mentioned here are being discriminated against when they apply for their monthly subsistence. If this happens, the officer is just not suitable for the job, and should be tranferred to another government agency or a less important position.